It is referred to in the French work by Fr François Poiré called The Triple Crown of the Holy Mother of God (1630) which I translated on this blog starting on the 1st of May 2024.
I offer this annotated edition of St Bonaventure’s work as a small gift to our gentle Queen and Mother in gratitude for all her graces and favours, requesting her continued help and protection for the author and his family.
👈The Annunciation, early 1460s; by Willem Vrelant (Flemish, died 1481, active 1454 - 1481). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
The Latin text and references are based upon Speculum Beatae Mariae Virginis (1904). The English text is based upon that attributed to Sr Mary Emmanuel O.S.B. (published by Herder in 1932). Amazon's various editions ackowledge that this text is in the Public Domain worldwide, attributing it to the text of a Dublin edition (author unknown) published in 1849.
Chapter 2 -- Freedom of Mary from the Threefold Woe of Actual Sin, from the Threefold Woe of Original Misery, and from the Threefold Woe of Eternal Punishment
Part 2 of 2
Secondly, we must consider that Mary was not only free from the threefold woe of actual guilt, but also from the threefold woe of original misery, i.e., the woe of the misery of them that are born, the woe of the misery of them that bring forth, and the woe of the misery of them that die. The woe of the misery of being born is the woe of the fuel of sin; the woe of them that bring forth is the woe of the pains of travail; the woe of the misery of them that die is the misery of being reduced to dust and ashes. Because of these three woes is it said to the inhabitants of the earth: “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth!” The woe of the misery of them that are born is the woe of the fuel of sin which is born in us, by which, according to our original corruption, we are so weak unto good and so prone to evil; so that each one is born with the “fomes peccati” (fuel of sin) and by this fuel is weak and wounded, and can truly say with Jeremias[1]:
“Woe is me for my destruction, my wound is very grievous. But I said, truly this is my own evil, and I will bear it.”
But alas! not only is there in those that are born weakness and misery, inclining them when adults to actual sin; but also the woe of stain and of guilt, bringing them even as little infants under the wrath of God. Therefore the Apostle saith[2]:
“All . . . were born children of wrath.”
Oh, how far from this woe of them that are born was the most holy Nativity of Mary, who was not only free from original sin, but also from the fuel of misery, in so far as it leads to sin, for she was conceived without stain. St Bernard bears witness to this when he says[3]:
“I think that a more abundant grace of sanctification descended upon her which not only sanctified her birth but also kept her life thenceforth free from all sin.”
Because the Nativity of Mary was so far removed from this woe, she is saluted by Ave.
Again, the misery of them that bring forth is that woe of the original curse pronounced against Eve[4],
“In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children.”
On account of this woe it may be said to all who bring forth what the Lord said to some amongst them[5]:
“Woe to them that are with child, and that give suck in those days.”
Oh, how far from this woe was Mary when she conceived and brought forth, as St. Augustine testifies, saying[6]:
“Oh, how blessed is that Mother who without stain conceived and without pain brought forth Healing!”
Because she was so far from this woe of them that bring forth, therefore is Mary saluted with: Ave.
Again, the woe of the misery of them that die is the woe of dissolution into dust, which was imposed upon man when it was said to the sinner[7]:
“Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.”
Hence of those that are born and those that die can be said those words of Ecclesiasticus[8]:
“Woe to you, ungodly men, who have forsaken the law of the most high Lord, and if you be born, you shall be born in malediction: and if you die, in malediction shall be your portion.”
Certainly both just and unjust are born under the curse of concupiscence and will die in the curse of dust; yet to the impious alone is this curse particularly addressed, for their concupiscence is more deadly and their dissolution into dust more odious; and to the wicked their evil inclinations are more hurtful, and the remembrance of their end in dust is more bitter than to the just.
Oh, as we universally believe, how far from the woe of this dissolution was the most holy body of Mary! For this body was the most holy Ark of God, to which corruption was unbecoming, but which, following the example of her Son, should rise again, before any taint of corruption could infect it. Whence it is both of the Son and the Mother that the Prophet saith[9]:
“Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark, which thou hast sanctified.”
This Ark was made of incorruptible wood[10], because the flesh of Mary never became corrupted. Therefore St. Augustine well says[11]:
“The heavens were more worthy to preserve so glorious a treasure than the earth, and rightly incorruptibility followed on integrity, and not any dissolution or corruption.”
As Mary was entirely free from the woe of them that are born, so also was she from the woe of the dying, and rightly is she saluted by: Ave.
Thirdly, we have to consider that Mary was not only immune from the threefold woe of actual guilt, and from the threefold woe of original sin; but also from the threefold pain of hell. This threefold woe consists in the greatness, the multitude, and the duration of the punishments. Woe, therefore, to the damned and to those who will be damned, because of the greatness, the multitude, and the duration of their torments! Of these threefold woes may be said: “Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth!” This woe consists the greatness of the torments, of which Ezechiel well saith[12]:
“Woe to the bloody city, of which I will make a great bonfire.”
The bloody city is the multitude of the impious, of whom there will be an immense bonfire made in the great conflagration of the damned.
Oh, how far removed from this woe of greatness of torment was the greatness of the grace and glory of Mary, for whom, instead of the great fire in hell, was prepared by God so great a glory in Heaven and, as she was great in merit, so is she great in her reward. She herself is that great throne of which it is said[13]:
“King Solomon also made a great throne of ivory.”
Mary is truly the Throne of Solomon, great in grace and glory. St. Bernard well says[14]:
“As much more grace than others as Mary obtained on earth, so great a degree of singular glory did she gain in Heaven.”
Because Mary is far removed from this woe, rightly is it said to her : Ave.
Again, the woe of hell consist not only in the magnitude but in the multitude of its pains. Isaias says[15]:
“Woe to their souls, for evil things are rendered to them.”
He says evil things, in the plural, because there are many, yea, infinite evils rendered to evil-doers in hell. But to Mary, in contradistinction to the many evils prepared for the damned in hell, God hath prepared many good things in Heaven. No angel, no saint, can equal her in the multitude and accumulation of heavenly good things, as the Book of Proverbs says[16]:
“Many daughters have gathered together riches, thou hast surpassed them all.”
If we understand these daughters to be human souls or angelic intelligences, has she not surpassed the riches of the virgins, of the confessors, of the martyrs, of the Apostles, of the prophets, of the patriarchs, and of the angels, when she herself is the first-fruit of the virgins, the mirror of confessors, the rose of martyrs, the ruler of Apostles, the oracle of prophets, the daughter of patriarchs, the queen of angels? What is wanting to her of the riches of all these? St. Jerome says[17]:
“If you look diligently at Mary, there is nothing of virtue, nothing of beauty, nothing of splendour or glory which does not shine in her.”
Because, therefore, Mary was so far removed from the woe foretold of hell, she is rightly addressed with: Ave.
Again, the woe of hell consists not only in the magnitude , not only in the multitude but also in the duration or perpetuity of its pains. In the Epistle of St. Jude it is said[18]:
“Woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain and after the error of Balaam, and have perished in the contradiction of Core.”And a little further on: “to whom the storm of darkness is reserved forever.”
Note that he says forever and think how great is the duration of these pains and of the darkness which will have no end in eternity.
Oh how infinitely removed from this woe of unending hell was the enduring glory of Mary. In place of the eternal darkness in hell, the Lord prepared for Mary eternal light in Heaven. Whereas the sinful soul serves as a throne for the devil and will be in miserable darkness in eternity, Mary the Mediatrix, the Throne of Christ, will be wondrously luminous in eternity, according to the words of the Psalm[19] which speaks of a throne which “is as the sun in my sight, and as the moon perfect for ever.”
Thus, therefore, as the Most Blessed Virgin Mary was free from the threefold woe of hell, yea, from all the nine woes mentioned, rightly is it said to her, Ave. Accordingly, let us all salute her with Ave and let us all pray that, for the sake of her most beloved Son, she may pray for us to be delivered from every woe; through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, God, for ever and ever.
Footnotes
[1] Jer. x. 19.
[2] Ephes. ii. 3.
[3] Epist. cit. n. 5.
[4] Gen. iii. 16.
[5] Matt. xxiv. 19.
[6] Potius homil. 3. de Nativ. B.M.V. (int. op. Alcuini) post initium. Cfr. etiam serm. 7. in Assumt. B. M. V. (int. op. Ildephonsi) circa medium.
[7] Gen. iii. 19.
[8] Ecclesus. xli. 11-12.
[9] Psalm. cxxxi. 8.
[10] Cfr. Exod. xxv.10.
[11] De Assumt. B.M.V. (iut. op. August.) n. 6.
[12] Ezech. xxiv. 9.
[13] 3 Kings x. 18.
[14] Serm. 1. in Assumt. 6. M. V. n. 4.
[15] Isai. iii.9.
[16] Prov. xxi. 29.
[17] Epist. cit. n. 15.
[18] Jude i. 11 and 13.
[19] Psal. lxxxviii. 38.
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SUB tuum præsidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genitrix. Nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus, sed a periculis cunctis libera nos semper, Virgo gloriosa et benedicta. Amen.
The Virgin of Tenderness. >12th century.
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
He that hearkeneth to me, shall not be confounded: and they that work by me, shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting. Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) xxiv. 30-31.30-31.
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